"How can you lose when you never stop fighting?"
Cassiopeia Walker-Simmons looked at her star from a tiny window in space her whole life. She never imagined that it'd be even more beautiful from the ground. Yet every time she gazed upon the dazzlin...
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UNDER A STARS PROTECTION
She saw the same look in all of their eyes - pity. They all cooed at the young girl alone, talking to her as if she would shatter at any moment. It was as if they expected her to crumble under all of the grief but they didn't know Cassie; even when she mourned, she remained quiet. On the inside, she was screaming and sobbing but on the outside she was stony faced. It was a sobering expression to see on a child. Yet constantly through the pain, there was a spark of hope left that lied to her, and told fake truths about her parents.
Today of all days, however, she was unusually quiet. It was the day that they were finally letting her out of the medical bay, claiming that she was as well as she could ever be. Even Cassie knew that was a lie - they just wanted her gone. No one ever wanted to stay near her for too long, even she wished she could run away from herself. Every time she tried she just found herself chasing behind her.
Abby Griffin, Clarke's mother, guided her out of the bay. She was the only person she'd met since her parents died that treated her as a child and not a victim, her smiles not manufactured of plastic and moulded out of genuine care. Her hand was held in Cassie's, just as soft as her own mothers had been, and Abby looked down at the child, squeezing her hand. "Are you excited to meet them?"
Cassie remained silent, her gaze focused on the floor. She'd barely registered the pressure in her hand, willingly being led away from the place she called home for a week and to the unknown. Abby let out an inaudible sigh, giving Cassie's hand another squeeze. "I'm excited for you to meet them, Cassie. They're good people, and you'll be very happy with them."
"But they're not mommy and daddy," she muttered, eyes unmoving. Cassie blinked back the sudden film of tears that covered her eyes, swallowing thickly. "When will they come back?"
Abby froze. Her steps came to a halt, and no longer being led, Cassie stopped too. Abby's face finally matched the same one of all the other adults she'd spoken to, and it was in that moment that Cassie knew that Abby didn't care. She just felt obligated to be nice towards her, as if she was a patient of hers.
Cassie took her hand back.
"They're going to be away for a long time Cassie." Abby rested her hand on Cassie's shoulder. She shrugged her off straight away. Abby lied all the rest of the adults. Cassie was stupid for trusting her. Abby stared at her blankly, coughing awkwardly. "Come on then."
This time, Cassie didn't reach for Abby's hand.
*
The two men stood in the room weren't what she was expecting at all. They were the complete opposite of her mommy and daddy - they both had a beard. Only her daddy had a beard. One of the men had stark red hair, with streaks of grey peppering his ginger beard. The tender smile on his face was infectious, and Cassie responded with a small tight lipped one of her own. The other man looked more like her, with dark skin and very deep, brown eyes. Despite the harshness of them, the crinkles at the edges of them softened them.
